2000 and 10

Summer on patriotic day at school

We are in the "club" phase of child rearing. It's fun. Here is the signage on Summer's door as of late. It's very specific and if you don't meet the guidelines, well, that's just to bad for you!

The collage

I'm going to have to look into the "boyfrends" part of this sign. Remember, only pertinent info is on here!

It's a girls club, but...

If you are a boy who is in the girls club, go on in! Anyone else noticing discrepancies in the rules?

There's an exception to every rule, I suppose!

The only thing I don't like about this, is keeping the peace between those who are "in" and those who are "out"!

Hap!!!!!!!!!!!py Friday

The girls as babies

Our kids are getting way too computer literate. Here is Summer's e-mail to her cousin in Montana today:

Heidi I miss you really much I wish we lived together and I wish I cood just come over and play at your house and have a sleepover it wood be so much fun if we. Lived together I wood be so ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ppy it is so sad That we live so faraway from echther .LOVE SUMMER FOR HEIDI

Deep thoughts from Matthew

Matthew at the ranch in MT this summer

This morning while we were out jogging, Matthew posed an interesting question to me. "Mom, when poop goes down under ground does it talk?" Me : "um what do you mean?" Matthew: "Does it talk?" Me: "No, it doesn't have a voice or a mouth." Matthew: "Oh, or a penis or a bum?" Me: "Nope, none of those things." silence. Matthew: "I have a great idea. the germs eat it."
Just a little peek people! Love him!

Lost

Ok friends, I'm back! School starts on the 23rd, so after T. Jay's baptism, birthday party (AUG.13) and school starting, we should be back on a roll of posting. Yay! It's been a long, busy summer and I have a ton of catching up and photo posting to do. I just downloaded all of the photos and I took over 1100 pics! No, I won't torture you with posting most of them, but it's going to take some time to find my favorites. Until then, a funny story:
We arrived home on Sunday evening. After sleeping in 11 different locations during the summer, my own bed was a special treat. I slept like a rock. Night number two was a little different story. Lexi tossed and turned a little and at one point woke up crying. I was still mostly asleep as I went towards her cries. I got out into the hallway and didn't know where I was. I couldn't figure out where her sounds were coming from. I stood there in the hallway trying to figure out how I was going to find her without barging in on whomever my gracious host was in the middle of the night. All of the doors were closed. I paced the hallway at least twice (it's a large hallway) a little worried, when I passed our overflow pantry closet. (yes, it's upstairs. I have more food than linens, I suppose) It took a moment, but it jogged my memory enough to remind me that I was in fact at home and Lexi was not so "snug as a bug in a rug" in her own little bed. It was a funny feeling. I guess it gives me an appreciation to how the kiddos might feel waking up in 11 different locations through out the summer!

Road Trip Stage 2 - Whitefish and Glacier Park

I had a really tough business trip I had to take in June. I had to go to a resort in Whitefish, Montana and hang out with the Governors of the western states. Although the hob-knobbing and food were great (my company sponsors the event so I got invited to all of the private dinners and parties with the governors) my favorite part was hanging with my family.

We started with a ride abord the Glacier Park Foundation train. This year was Glacier Park's 100th birthday and the BNSF railroad let the WGA (Western Governors Association) use their executive train for a ride from Whitefish to East Glacier. The train had modern engines, but all of the cars were the old luxury cars from the 1950's. We had a table in the last car which was the one with the high curved windows. The view was awesome! The first 4 hours was fun, but the kids didn't really enjoy hours 4 through 6 of the train ride, so needless to say either did Kelli and I!

The back of our car had stadium seating and a huge picture window. You could just sit and watch the beauty unfold around you.

Glacier Park Train Ride from Kelli Melin on Vimeo.

We spent one afternoon on Big Mountain at the ski resort. This is Kelli, Summer, and Lexi going up the chairlift.

Here is the man-lift!

This was by far the kids' favorite thing - the Alpine slide. We went down about 4 times and it wasn't nearly enough for them.

Getting ready to slide.

TJay zooming down the mountain.

We took the big lift up the mountain. I took TJay and Summer on an open chairlift, but Matthew kept saying, "I want a box" which meant he wanted to ride in the gondola.

We found heaven at the top of the mountain. Our kids have been begging us to find snow for a year now and we finally found it at the top of Big Mountain. They had an absolute blast. Matthew would throw snow for about 5 minutes then come over to me and say, "Dad, why are my hands so cold?". It was pretty funny.

Our Florida baby's first snow!

Here is my world at the top of the world.

Summer riding the lift down the mountain. It was the perfect day.

While I was at one of the dinners Kelli took the kids to the beach at Whitefish lake. We thought the water would be too cold to swim so they didn't take swim gear. But of course my kids are tough and played in the newly melted snow anyway! Growing up in Montana I can tell you that your temperature sensor is not as acute. We never had any problem swimming in really cold water.

We took the scenic route home from Whitefish.

Every time we stopped the kids wanted to throw rocks into some body of water. They could do that for hours. This is some of the coldest water you will ever find. It is fresh glacier melt and has the most beautiful green color.

This pic makes me happy and sad all at the same time. You are seeing me in my happiest moment, but I see my babies getting way too big.

Just a beautiful place.

Matthew is very excited about how big he is getting. "Dad - look at me. I can touch this tree without getting off of the trail!"

Just another pic of heaven.

Beautiful Summer in beautiful Glacier.

Doesn't it just make your heart smile?

We found another round of snow for the kids.

No caption needed...

Road Trip Stage 1 - Florida, Georgia, South Dakota, Montana

Hello everyone. This (and a few others) are guest posts from Jess. Kelli is on another one of her "Best Summer Ever" trips and I told her I would post some pics for her when I got home. I have been on the road for about 55 of the last 60 days so this is my first chance to fulfill my promise. Enjoy!
The first stop was Savannah, Georgia. Kelli's cousin was graduating from High School and the whole family came down and rented a house right on the water. The kids loved it!

Sum Sum, Monkey Boy, and TJay Bear just hanging out.

Aunt Susan, Grandaddy, Aunt Sherry, Uncle Steve, and Cathy. The best part about trips is getting to be with family! Kelli's trip this year will end up with our kids getting to see everyone on both sides of the family - all of the Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. I'm so glad my wife takes these trips. She is awesome!

Some really good looking lady with my kids.

I was a geography major at the Academy and have always loved maps. I still do. It's good to see that Matthew is following in my footsteps!

Cowgirl Lexi-Lou!

After being in the car all day Kelli stopped at Wall Drug in South Dakota and let the kids tame a wild Jackalope!

That hot blonde with my kids again. This time in the Black Hills Caverns. I'm going to have to find out who she is...

Matthew panning for gold near Mount Rushmore.

I have no idea where this pic was taken.

Modeling to be the next face on the mountain.

This is in my brother's back yard in Livingston, Montana. He has dozens of different flowers in his yard. Summer really took to tree climbing this trip. In fact when we told her she had to take a nap at my mom's house we found her laying down up in the apple tree in the back yard!

Whitefish, MT

So, I absolutely love Whitefish. If I could, I would move there in a heartbeat. Here's what we did: Saturday we took the train ride from Whitefish to East Glacier. It was phenomenal and miserable all at the same time. Why? Well, imagine driving four kids from Florida to Montana (with a few days of break here and there) and then giving them one day to play and then driving them seven hours up to Whitefish and then the very next day taking a 6 hour train ride with a bunch of senior citizens. I know, we are either incredibly insane or incredibly stupid. The scenery was breathtaking and the train itself was fun. It just happened to be about 4 and a half hours too long. The last hour and a half was basically misery trying to keep Matthew from offending each and every senior on the train. He just wanted to run up and down the corridor. It took doing a puzzle and eating ice cream to recover that evening. And just for the record, I don't tend to be an emotional eater either. On Sunday we went to church, where the governor of Utah sat behind us. After that, we had sandwiches at the park and playground time.
Next we went to the Conrad Mansion. It was insanely cool. As most of you know, I love old things. This was a huge treat. The house was built about 1898 and is still in the same condition as it was when the family lived in it. The decor, paint, knick-knacks- everything! They even had the family's clothing in the closets and on display. Oh to have seen it in it's heyday! Now, as cool as this was, this was also phenomenal yet miserable at the same time! The tour of the house was about an hour and 20 minutes and we were on it with about 12 little old ladies. Some of them seemed like really sweet Grandmas and were offering help whenever they saw opportunity. A few, not so much. Imagine a tour where the guide wore gloves so that she could touch things and then throw Matthew into the mix, my little toucheroo! I ended up carrying him and Lexi pretty much the whole time. I was wishing that I had brought my Ergo baby in so bad! By the end of the tour, my arms were shaking. Let's just say, it took another little cup of ice cream that night. I think I need to do yoga or something instead or this ice cream habit could become a problem for my waistline!
On Monday, Jess had conference (Western Governors Association) meetings in the morning, so I did laundry in a teeny, tiny, stackable washer and dryer. Two normal loads were four in that little guy. I was glad to be able to wash though. Lexi also got a good nap in. When Jess returned, we went over to the ski area. We rode the chair lift up to the top of the mountain (Big mountain, it's called) and saw some incredible views of Flathead lake, the valley and the surrounding mountains. The children also got to play in snow!!! That was one of the highlights for sure. We have some fun videos of the kids sliding down the little hill on their bums and throwing snowballs. It was great. We also hiked a tiny bit and rode the Alpine slide. That was a kid favorite, so much so that we rode it several times. Once we exhausted our tickets, we dropped Dad and Lexi off at the room so he could work and she could nap. The older three kids and I headed to the public beach at Flathead lake. They have a great swimming area! I wish I had brought the kids bathing suits, but figured that it was a bit too glacier like to swim. Oh not so. They got soaked in their clothes and had a blast throwing rocks in the lake. Numbness shmumbness!
Tuesday we checked out of our room and drove home via Glacier National park. Oh the majesty and beauty of that place. We took a nature walk on the cedar trail, played in more snow, and took in all of the scenery. To finish the day-a bowl of bison & elk chili, salad and the lazy hiker burger! Yum! Then, of course that 7 hour drive home. The drive has been pretty and did I mention that I haven't had to drive at all? Awesome.
We are gearing up to have a little Melin family reunion over the 4th of July weekend (Happy birthday weekend, Suzi!) Jess and all of his siblings are in town. We have hiking, camping, the parade, craft show, fireworks and who knows what else on the agenda. I absolutely love Livingston over the fourth! I hope that yours is fab, too.